Second-hand car dealers sell off most of their stock; dip in supply expected

Vistors at a used car showroom at Turf City on April 6, 2013, after the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced the lifting of restrictions on used-car loans for 60 days. The glut in used cars is over and a shortage looms. -- ST FILE PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG

By Royston Sim

The glut in used cars is over and a shortage looms.

Second-hand car dealers have managed to sell most of the cars in their inventory after a two-month reprieve from the authorities.

At the same time, they are not buying used cars as drivers hold on to their wheels in the wake of drastic loan curbs.

A Land Transport Authority spokesman said about 4,600 of the 7,000 used cars that dealers had acquired before the car loan restrictions kicked in had been sold as of Monday.